World In Prayer needs a few more writers and editors! Our team consists of 12-15 volunteers, from several different countries and continents. Each week, one person writes the prayers in response to international news. A second person then edits and posts the prayers online. Because we rotate who writes and edits, you would end up serving approximately once every five or six weeks.

Due to life changes, some of our team members need to cut back. So, we’re looking for people who deeply care about our world, see God’s hand at work throughout all creation and all persons, and are inspired to help write and produce these prayers. If you are interested, please send an email to worldinprayer@aol.com.
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Into your hands, O God, we commend our spirits. The spirits of the dead and dying… The spirits of those full of life. The spirits of the joyous… And the spirits of the fearful and uncertain. The spirits of the lost and lonely… And the spirits of those enwrapped in and wrapping others in love.

Especially, this week we commend into your hands
the spirits of those bowed down by modern slavery.

In Brazil, where the Ministry of Labor fined 340 Brazilian companies for using slave labor, including in sweatshops producing clothes, in farms, cattle ranches, timber companies, construction and charcoal production.

In Uganda, where a project by the Interior Ministry’s anti-human trafficking task force is trying to reach out to poor rural communities vulnerable to child trafficking by promoting literacy and increasing awareness. Children in the target areas are trafficked and forced to work in cattle herding, stone quarrying and brick making, lured into prostitution, abducted to fight in rebel armies, or even used as sacrifices in rituals some Ugandans think bring wealth and power.

Especially, this week we commend into your hands
the spirits of those rescued from child enslavement, but who still wait years for repatriation.

Due to lack of international coordination between nations to verify victims’ identities and trace their places of origin, repatriation can, in some cases, take years. Charities in South Asia are piloting new software which aims to speed up the repatriation of rescued victims of human trafficking who have been smuggled from countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh and forced into slavery in India.

Especially, this week we commend into your hands
the spirits of those in limbo as they travel far from home, seeking for safety.

The roughly 900 migrants rescued near the Greek island of Lesbos

Refugees from Syria hoping to travel through Austria to claim asylum in Germany – only this week Austria imposed a limit of 80 asylum applications will be accepted each day, and a maximum of 3,200 people will be allowed to travel through the nation.

The European Union has scheduled a special summit with Turkey on the migration crisis in early March

Pope Francis decried the “tragedy” of people who are forced to migrate, as he celebrated Mass in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez city on the border with the United States. He climbed a ramp overlooking the Rio Grande that separates the city and El Paso, Texas, and laid flowers on a cross erected in memory of migrants who died trying to cross to the other side.

Especially, this week we commend into your hands
the spirits of those who hunger and thirst.

As many as 49 million people in southern Africa could be affected by a drought that has been worsened by the most severe and longest El Nino weather pattern in 35 years, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). An estimated 1 million African children are already severely malnourished.

Emergency food aid reached thousands of people uprooted by Boko Haram violence in Chad who had been cut off from help since November. However, the threat of Boko Haram militants and the difficulty in reaching some areas, partly because of the lack of roads, are hindering efforts to reach tens of thousands more people.

Humanitarian aid has also reached the embattled city center of Taiz in Yemen for the first time in months, following negotiations to allow supplies into the area described as being on the brink of famine.

Also this week, 100 truckloads of aid were given to about 100,000 people in five besieged areas of Syria in a U.N.-backed deal to deliver help to thousands of trapped residents. The U.N. estimates there are 486,700 people in around 15 besieged areas of Syria, and 4.6 million people in hard-to-reach areas. In some, starvation deaths and severe malnutrition have been reported.

Especially, this week we commend into your hands
the spirits of the parents who fear for their unborn children.

As the mosquito-born Zika virus spreads across Latin America, and the number of children born with microcephaly continues to rise

Into your hands, O God, we commend our spirits. The spirits of the dead and dying… The spirits of those full of life. The spirits of the joyous… And the spirits of the fearful and uncertain. The spirits of the lost and lonely… And the spirits of those enwrapped in and wrapping others in love.

Gracious and Good God, we come towards All Saints’ Day with darkness in our world and with hope for your light.

We pray for the saints who have entered your kingdom who healed individuals and neighborhoods. We pray for those angels among us: those who feed the hungry, comfort the aggrieved, and love their neighbors. We pray for the dying, the sick, and the hopeless, especially those who are alone in their pain and despair.

We pray for the saints who have entered your kingdom who improved the lives of children and families. We pray for families across the world who mourn the loss of children due to disease, malnutrition, and displacement. We pray for the families in China, where the one-child policy has ended. We pray for foster children and for their families. We pray for those who are unable to conceive.

We pray for the saints to have entered your kingdom who were travelers, who proclaimed your goodness, who founded communities, who were martyrs, and who brought peace into the world. We pray for South Sudan, where new reports of crimes against humanity are emerging. At least seven ceasefires have been agreed to and broken since conflict started in December 2013, and more than two million people have become refugees.

We pray for the saints who have entered your kingdom who were people of the cloth and people for the people. We pray for Nepal, which elected its first female president.

We pray for the saints who have entered your kingdom who were artists: musicians, poets, gardeners, teachers. We pray for the victims of school violence in Aberdeen, Scotland and in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Help our schools to be safe havens for children, staff, and families. Help our cultures of violence to become cultures of love.

Since last All Saints’ Day, many of us have mourned the loss of someone who was a saint in our lives or in the lives of our loved ones. May we feel their heavenly presence more than their earthly absence. May they be missionaries of your love and protection.

In all our joys and in all our concerns, may we be ever mindful of the presentness of the sacred among us, and to see new possibilities of the now.

Creativity God, be our guide in re-imagining our human institutions of government. As the United Kingdom‘s parliament undergoes a change and the United States continues to prepare for a presidential election, let us be of one mind in doing what is best for all of creation. Compromise is not easily found today, but we know such collaboration is where true and lasting effectiveness begins.

There are 2.8 million Nepalese that have been displaced from the earthquake, in some locations still without any aid, and now they face monsoon season. Help us to find ways to be a part of the solution like the Toyota dealership in Kathmandu that has turned itself into a makeshift tarp factory sewing together plastic tablecloths. In such simple labor there is great sacredness in caring for creation’s basic need – shelter.

In Colombia and the United States we see the violence that can occur when riot police meet with demonstrators. The greatness of any democracy should be seen in the people’s right to protest because “without action, [we] aren’t going anywhere.” (Gandhi) Faithful God, help us to know your presence on both sides of a demonstration; make us faithful in our steps and actions; and lead us to the best way in finding the sacred among us.

Consoling parent, reveal your love and care to the Nigerian children and women who have been rescued from Boko Haram Islamists as they now seek treatment in a refugee camp in the eastern town of Yola.

In all our joys and in all our concerns, may we be ever mindful of the presentness of the sacred among us, and to see new possibilities of the now.

As the United States celebrates Mother’s Day this weekend, help us to recognize that mothers come in many different forms and we celebrate them all. Everyone is either a son or a daughter of a mother. For those mothers who have joined in the great continuum and whom we miss dearly on earth, let us give praise and thanksgiving. For the women who work day and night to raise their children, let us give thanks. For the soon-to-be-mothers, let us be mindful of health and home. For all the women who take in others’ children through adoption or foster care, let us realize how big hearts can be. For women who have lost a child to death and must carry on, let us feel their strength and courage. For those women in families of two moms, thank you for loving through great adversity. For all the women who have wanted children of their own, but have had to take other routes, let us give thanks for the mothers in spirit. We thank you, God, for the women who have influenced our lives in so many ways. We pray that we will honor them in everything we do.

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
–Matthew 22:22 NRSV

God of majesty, your glory and wonder fills all of creation. In all corners of your world, beauty, truth and wonder abound. Sadly, there are times when we seem to forget that you, and you alone, are the great Creator of this mysterious universe.

Open our hearts and our eyes, that we may see you, hear you, and experience you in all that surrounds us.

Holding you in the core of our being, we offer you our thanks and praise.

You have gifted us with life, with faith, and with your love. Trusting in your power and grace, we offer to you our prayers for your world.

We hold before you all who have been affected by the Ebola virus: for the children who are now orphans, for the parents who have lost their children, for the medical professionals who care for the sick and for those who are working on a vaccine.

We pray for those who died in the avalanches in the Himalayas of central Nepal.

We pray for the people in the town of Kobane in Syria as the airstrikes intensify.

We pray that peace and calm will prevail over the news of the European stock market tumble.

We pray that the peace talks between the student protesters and the Hong Kong government will bring forth a fair and just outcome.

We pray for all the earth, that we may learn to walk gently, bringing healing and new life to the places where we have brought harm.

Tender and caring Creator, accept these, the prayers of your people prayed in the strong name of Peace.

Gratitudes

December 28, 2013

In October, Pope Francis formally gave permission for Roman Catholic masses in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas to be celebrated in Tzotzil and Tzeltal, the two native languages that are the only languages spoken by 65% of the population – and Christmas masses were for the first time celebrated in those languages. For this […]